Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-12-16
LLANO COUNTY.
A County OF Mountain and Valley, Of
MINIS and Minerals, OF Running
Streams and Fertile Fields.
Mountains Of Wealth Lie Hidden 2waitip z
the Advent Of Capital and Labor-Prog-
ress Made and Future Prospects.


once was: the Well-tilled fields, checked
Off and divided for miles and miles be-
yond the Visions reach, show where the
thrifty husbandmsn hiss subdued the soil
and erected his family sltar; in other
districts are the majestic pine and oak
forests awakened by the noise of hun
dreds OF sawmills, or resounding with
the echoes OF the woodmsn's AK:
there are deep glens, impossible marshes
where the blttern stands pensively and
again mountains rise whose beetling crags
frown ominously. Texas is q land Of
variety, OF resource, of scenery varying
from the dreary cactus covered moor to
the extreme of picturesque luxuriance.
Indeed she is very Babel of attractions.
From the low lands on the coast, where
the gull breezes come freighted with the
seas mOurnful monotone, far up to the
high lands where the fresh footprints OF
q new and advancing civilization are yet
visible. there are to be found every
variety of soil known and, beneath this,
every character of mineral wealth ell
awaiting labor's powerful alchemy to
appropriate and convert them to and
into the comfort and blessing of man
kind. In no one county, perhaps, has ma
ture been more lavish with her gifts than
Llsno. Here is found thousands of acres
OF fertile, arabic land, springs and rivers
OF living water, forests Of timber, mount
aims OF mineral wealth. Iron ore that as
says IS to so per cent. pure metal, mount
aims of lithographing rOck-the most val
liable known-white quartz silver that as
says eighteen ounces to the hundred
pounds, inexhaustible qusrries of marble,
pure white, red, dark and blue stains;
rich copper ore, soepstone, gran
lite rock, asbestos, and other
minerals of great value. The
little town Of Llano is attra citing attention
as will be evidenced by the fact that since
June last over $50. 600 worth of town lots
have been sold and valuable mining prop
erty has been purchased by capitalists,
who will st once proceed to develop it.
and in short time the smoke of furnaces
and the hoarse groanings of quart crush
ers will be heard in her mountains. A
number OF Fort Worth people have inter-
ested themselves and are very enthusiast
tic over their prospects. And here brief
history OF the county may not be .amiss;
LLANO COUNTY,
Texas, is on the west side of the Colo
RADIO, siXty-fve miles above Austin, is
bounded On the east by said river and
Burnett county, on the south by Blanco
and Gillespie counties, on the west by
Mason and McCulloch counties, aud on
the north by San Saba county. It en-
braces GA 1894 acres OF land, one.third or
100000 acres being first class arabic land.
The soil is sandy quality, varying from
the light to the black and red sandy, with
a clay subsoil everywhere at q depth of
from eighteen to thlrty-siX inches. Corn
and cotton, oats, wheat, barley, rye, mil
let, and the grasses of every character, es
well as vegetsb les and fruit Of every kind
and grapes grow IuxuriantlY AID IN abun-
dance. Crops can be raised IN LlsnO county
with less rain than anywhere else in
Texas. The county is mountainous, with
an altitude CT about 1900 feet. 1t is well
watered by the Colorado and Llano rivers
and by numerous fire springs and creeks
of living water. Llsno county was or
gsnized August 6, 1857. In 1870 she had
a population of 1310-in 1880 of 5000. She
now has population of 10, 900. In 1870
her taxable values amounted to $3.50, 600;
in 1880 to $3.50, 600; in 1887 to So, 64O, 900,
and in 1888 will be $3,5O0,OO0.
Llano county is thoughtto De the rich
est county in the United States In min
eral ores and fine stones. She has the
manganese, link, copper, silver, gold and
lead ores; gypsum, out OF which
to manufacture plaster of paris, n.y.
drsullc lime stone, which makes
cement equal, if not superior. to the
Portland cement. Seven or eight varie-
ties each of granite and marble, graphite
or stone polish, asbestos mica, the gold
leaf and white mica, soap stone, which
stands unequalled as fire proof mate
rial, and moss agate, garretts, lubies and
the Bessemer steel, iron ore, in mex
haustible quantities. Llano town upon
Llsno river, about the center of the
county, is the county seat. 1t is thriv-
ing, thrifty town of about 1000 inhab-
itants. It is clean and picturesque; has
about forty business houses in which
every line Of business is represented; has
two church buildings completed and one
under way OF construction; a
$4,000 courthouse, $4,000 jail,
a $4,000 public school building.
and small system of waterworks, which
furnishes pure, sparkling, limpid water
from the Llano river. Her tax rolls show
the following stock assessed for taxes for
1887, viz: Ten thousand hogs, %, sos
sheep, 7l02 horses, and 42,S 35 head of
cattle, and 1914 persons pay poll tax Not
more than one-tenth Of the land suitable
for agriculture is IN cultivation. Llano
is the best agricultural, stock raising and
mining county, combined, in the United
States; good grass lands can be hi d at
from So to So per acre; unimproved
farming land ct from 81 30 to S., and
mineral lands st from 81 to $40 per
acre. Llsno exteLds an in
vitation to investors and energetic
home seekers and capitalists to visit her
and investigate her resources.
As an evidence of what progress has
been made in the county it may be OBJ
served that in 1880 the first cotton was
planted and that this year,Fnotwithstand-
ing the drouth. there will be about, or
exceeding 1000 bales of the feecy staple
raised. In this time fifteen gins and
mills have been erected, all of which are
doing good business. OF these fourteen
are run by steam and one by water power.
The mining industry will soon absorb the
most attention es capitalists are coming
in and the people soon expect to have q
boom that will make of the county one of
the wealthiest and most populous in the
state. Home seekers should not pass